Happy birthday iPad: What a year it's been

Who would have thought that it's now been a whole year since the iPad was launched at the Apple 2010 keynote, and so to celebrate the iPad 1st birthday Pocket-lint thought it a good idea to give you a run down of some of the highlights from the last 365 days.

It's been a real rollercoaster ride for the 10-incher, as from the very start it was either being lauded as a great innovation or, more likely, parodied, with the public and industry experts alike claiming that it'll never do no good for no-one. Whatever you think of the device however, the figures speak for themselves as the iPad has now chalked up 2010 sales of 14.8 million.

The Naming

Months before the official launch, speculation was rife as to what the new Apple tablet would be called, and as ever Pocket-lint was on hand to give a run down of the most likely contenders. The iSlate, iTablet and Newton touch were all in the running, well not the Newton touch, but we all had our best guesses, what was yours?

Keynote

Fanboys everywhere had sweaty palms and glazed eyes as they waited for My Jobs to announce the iPad. We'd love you to show you the whole thing, but this video happens to be much shorter and delivers the Apple message in less than 180 seconds - basically the iPad is "incredible".

The Big Debate

So is the iPad actually any good? This was the question being knocked back and forth across the virtual web-shaped tennis court at the time of launch. Features aplenty ensued in an effort to get to the bottom of the question.

Parodies

The iPad was always going to receive its fair share of parodies, but Apple's initial advert for the device was so bad that it probably made it an even bigger target. Who else but the Cupertino company could make what is essentially a bunch of electronic components fitted in a shiny box sound like the Second Coming (not the one by the Stone Roses)

Gaming

One area where the iPad has seen massive popularity is as a gaming platform, with app developers as keen as ever to produce high quality content for the tablet. So what games did we see around launch time, and which ones did we think worthy of you time and money? Pocket-lint scoured the app store to find the very best, and featured these two great articles: one for the serious gamers and one for the more casually inclined.

Hacks and Mods

Modding is never very far from Apple devices, as modders, and hackers for that matter, clearly get an awful amount of pleasure from messing with Apple's oh-so-well-thought-out products. For a run down of some of the best check out our feature here.

Apps

Clearly this is where the iPad's core strength lies; a wealth of apps just waiting to be downloaded onto your shiny new device to aid you in your daily tasks. Whatever you're looking for you'll find some of the best free ones available in the list below, and for the musically minded we've got one for you as well.

Tablet Faceoff

Competition is obviously heating up in the tablet market as other companies look to hitch a ride on the back of the success of the tablet form factor. So as we await tablet launches from CES 2011 to hit the shelves, as well as the iPad 2, here are a few stories that should help you stay in the know.